Okay, I’ve made a circle and returned to current 24.4-24.5 SH iteration. Welcome to the “many rumblings” thread.
/positive/
I generally like the new appeal system. The idea to divide “ornate” and “fine” items, while initially questionable, settles in fine enough.
The idea of likes and dislikes is great. I always hated the “Homey” bar in Sims because I could never understand how it works. Here it is quite clear, but with an element of discovery. Well done!
“Appeal view” is great! Now we have some understanding that items simply laying around in a stockpile generally have negative influence, so it is in our interests to use containers (including the new request/output ones!)
~ /can use some work/
What items are used when completing wandering traders’ quests?
Aside from being unclear, it is not mentioned anywhere. I smell opportunity!
a) The trader can specify the quality of the item he wants to get for trade
b) The trader may ask for quality items rarely, but offer statistically bigger rewards
-or-
The trader may accept one quality item as an equivalent to several common ones
-or-
You can have an option to give away (or keep) quality items if the number of your common items is not enough to complete the quest.
The thought behind it is that the player may want to keep items of better quality for himself and have more understanding/control on what goes where.
What items are used when constructing buildings?
Same thing here.
a) A player can have an option to specify the window/door/etc of which quality he wants to install
-or-
A player can have an option to “upgrade” already installed windows if he has a similar window of a better quality.
How does the appeal system influence gameplay? Is it purely aesthetical, or does it serve a purpose?
Purely a question of taste, but I would like it better if gems/names marking fine items were in darker colors (like rich “royal” purple used for marking Epic gear in MMOs).
While the attempt to make items of any quality visually identical is understandable, maybe a slight in-game difference could be useful. Maybe a “glittering” effect playing from time to time, or a coloured frame when you select that item.
Appeal view is not deactivated on pressing [Esc]. Since it is not the most often used view, hotkeying its deactivation seems logical.
/negative/
Appeal view suffers from the same problems as the “Loot” instrument. Namely, it does not process item’s height placement consistently.
Example: https://i.imgur.com/dF8uBPl.png
As you can see, here we have two windows, but only one is highlighted by the “Appeal view”, although both are at the same height. Slightly moving the cursor highlights it.
Currently they select them arbitrarily, not caring about quality. Since quality is not reliable, making quests require them is questionable.
In the old builder, it uses only the quality you specifically select. In the new builder, it’s still being implemented, but right now I think they’ll use any quality.
Appeal grants happy/unhappy thoughts.
This is actually accurate in that it reflects exactly which items the hearthling will see. Vision is blocked by walls, etc.
Wow. That’s… cool. Didn’t think about it.
On a sidenote, now that I know it, I’ve tested it further. When an “Appeal tool” is placed on a slope (either natural or artificial), its circle is visible only on the level where the cursor is and lower (not higher). Appeal stat, however, is calculated as usual, including items situated higher than cursor (if they are within line of sight). Imho, it would be logical for tool circle itself to be visually shown in both cases - up the hill as well as down.
Cursor on top of the hill, the whole circle is seen (including lower areas)
Cursor at the bottom, only the lower part is seen (but the items at the top are still evaluated - which is correct!)
PS. And another note. Currently Goblin tokens have a big negative appeal. If we have a military town (combat hearth, etc), they can be seen as trophies. Maybe for military towns they should actually have positive appeal?
To push this thought further, some more items can have appeal coefficients according to what town you build. For example, in “crafting” town crafting stations can be more appealing to hearthlings, while in a town centered on happiness, items of “wealth” (vases, curtains etc) can be even more appealing.
One thing I’d like to add to this feedback thread is that extremely high appeal levels are currently worthless.
For instance, I had my Carpenter craft furniture for a dining area setup which was all Masterwork yet at 30+ Appeal the only thing I got was “Awe-inspiring aesthetics” which is kind of a bummer since awe-inspiring aesthetic starts around 10 or if I recall correctly.
All the extra appeal is rather wasted, and currently there’s zero point in making sure everything is Masterwork quality when it comes to appeal.
Perhaps add a further level of appeal with a corresponding morale boost?
